(It's currently 5am while I write this in the UK, so forgive any spelling or grammatical errors!)

I'm one of many users of the Open Vehicle Monitoring System. It's an open-source project that initially gave Tesla Roadster owners Carwings functionality thanks to a great piece of hardware and a continually-evolving open-source software project. (Note: Tesla Roadsters never got remote functionality and connectivity with the Roadster, despite each roadster's data connection back to the mothership)

OVMS connects to an EV's OBDII port, and with some careful configuration (and lots of coding from the volunteers) it can now do everything from start charging remotely on a Tesla Roadster through to unlocking the doors, monitoring tire pressures, etc etc etc.

Last year, OVMS got a major upgrade which gave it modular functionality. For the first time, this meant that it could work with cars other than the Tesla Roadster. In fact, any EV with an ODBII port could theoretically be supported.

There are plenty of other EVs out there without native data connectivity. IN the UK that includes the Vauxhall Ampera/Chevy Volt (OnStar doesn't exit here, so neither does the smartphone connectivity), the Think EV, and the Renault Twizy.

As I've got a Renault Twizy and Nissan Leaf, I spent the $99 on an OVMS module so I can keep track of my Twizy's SOC remotely. It works a charm!

But with Carwings being so unreliable, not to mention closed-source, I've asked Mark Webb-Johnson -- the project's founder -- to help Leaf owners by letting the community code Leaf Support into OVMS.

And here's where you all come in.

I can code my way through some basic PHP. Heck, I can even spot the occasional error in someone else's code. And I've done my fair share of Linux/Mac/PC hackage.

But I'm not a decent coder. It takes me a long time to get anywhere (I'm a musician and an EVangelist, not a programmer) And I'm starting to look at the code and absorb it. But for me to get anything meaningful out of it will take time! I need help!

So if any of you are willing to help code support for the LEAF into this, please consider helping out. Not only will it give LEAF owners an alternative to Carwings, but should Nissan start to charge for the service, at least there will be another way out. I know the LEAF CAN bus is more complex than your average car, but thanks to the hard work of those who have already decoded a lot, there's a way to make this work.

Imagine, for example, what would happen if you could get OVMS to report GIDs and REAL SOC back to your phone?

Bumping this -- is no-one interested in OVMS? If not, why not? As I understand it, those of us with early Leafs will soon have to start paying for CarWings. (Wasn't it free for three years?)

Just as an update...

What's more, there are some really awesome integrations being worked on to bring OVMS and OCM together. I see this as a first step towards a fully integrated system that not only allows you to control your car remotely, but lets you update OVMS with good (and bad) charging experiences to benefit other EV drivers

So, who wants to help with the coding? I've got OVMS plugged into my Leaf at the moment, but what the team really needs is folks to log CANBUS data to donate to the project so folks can reverse-engineer what's going on and build a better alternative to CarWings

(I think, for example, that it will be possible to design a system which starts and stops charging...)

I don't know a whole lot about this area, but tacking the specific point about logging, I think the first inhibitor is the leaf's use of 4 CAN buses - I think they include
- regular canbus (like normal cars)
- EV specific
- Nav system
- Chademo (not on OBD connector)

I've not looked into OVMS much yet, but think I saw some mention of a new adapter being developed?
Is this a plugin to the main module?
to support all 3 buses?
I know resoldering/switching may be a short term option to switch the decode to the desired can bus?

Just as an aside, the OBD-II port is in a slightly annoying place for constant use. I've not yet tried a slim right angle cable yet (I was trying to use an old OBD scanner even just for the regular can, which supports some CAN buses but couldn't figure out the leaf protocol)